


hiraeth

by abettafish



Series: wanderlust [4]
Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alpha Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, M/M, Omega Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Panic Attacks, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, look i remembered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28688355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abettafish/pseuds/abettafish
Summary: When Dream thinks of the Nether, he’s reminded of bruised throats and a long-lost home.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: wanderlust [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030302
Comments: 21
Kudos: 672





	hiraeth

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this was done after the first part of this series but i had to wait to post and now i am doing so directly after the other part lol. i hope you guys enjoy! content for this series may slow down a bit again as i focus on other dsmp series i have in the works, but if there is anything you guys want to see explored just let me know! it can be as sad or happy as you want :)
> 
> this takes place BEFORE 'walk away'

When Dream thinks of the Nether, he’s reminded of bruised throats and a long-lost home. He’d gone many times since he was a child, whether it be for resources or to simply _look_ , searching for that lost something ( _someone_ ). Dream also mostly always had gone alone; George hated the Nether and Sapnap always managed to wonder off anyways. Besides, no one could ask him questions about why his eyes lingered for so long in certain biomes or about his uncanny aptitude at Nether travel.

But now, he was being followed through by the _Sleepy Bois, Inc._ – one of whom quelled the unsettling urge to _find_ , because he was no longer _lost_.

Technoblade was the second one through the portal, stopping next to Dream as he surveyed the space. It was a basic area, netherrack and lava flows overtaking a majority of the land. Dream finds himself gazing up at the pink-haired Alpha, who catches the feeling of eyes on him and looks down to meet the white mask with a stare of his own. Dream doesn’t know why he is staring. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t seen this figure silhouetted by Nether toned reds and oranges in so long that he can’t help the flow of memories. He never told Techno about how hard the loneliness was to manage after he made it out of the Nether. The ache in his chest that told him he was missing a part of himself; a limb needed for survival. Maybe he never would get a chance.

Techno lifts an eyebrow at Dream. He opens his mouth to give a lame excuse for the staring, but phantom pains stop him from speaking. Luckily, a loud-mouthed blonde exits the portal next, covering up the blunder.

“Why’s it so _hot_?” Tommy demands. Wilbur, who is brushing off imaginary portal bits, rolls his eyes.

“There’s lava everywhere, Tommy. What do you expect?” He retorts.

“I dunno, not _this_.” Tommy throws back. Phil wanders from the portal last, looking less impressed with their spawn location.

“If you hate this, try the Basalt Deltas,” Dream voice scratches against his throat. It’s unintentional and makes his shoulders scrunch up. No one mentions it, which he is grateful for.

“Soul Sand Valleys,” Techno mumbles next to him. Dream’s face screws up tightly at the mention of the difficult terrain. 

“Come on,” Phil says, rounding up the group, “We need to find a Fortress as soon as possible.”

They move on. Dream scouts just ahead of them, scaling the terrain with a practiced ease and calling out the best path for those less skilled in parkour to travel. Technoblade keeps up with the masked man easily, idling when Dream does and always making sure he is under where the Omega is jumping – like he is ready to catch him if he falls.

( _The air is filled with heavy breathing, one of which sounds more like a sickly wheeze. Two young boys look at each other with wide, terrified eyes. They don’t exchange words, because what would they say? One speaks in a language unknown to the other, who can’t even form syllables well enough to produce a scream as his foot slipped on the netherrack. If it hadn’t been for the other deciding to stay on more stable ground, then the voiceless one may have perished on the hot dirt instead of being wrapped in aching arms._ )

“What’s up with them?” Tommy’s voice travels up to Dream. He must have meant for it to be a slightly more private inquiry, because his tone was low, but with so little life existing around them it cuts through the air like a poorly aimed arrow. It was also _Tommy_ – even the softest of noises from him could sound like a Villager Bell in a quiet room. It was useful, on the plus side. Tommy rarely went unheard. 

“What do you mean?” Wilbur indulges him. Tommy makes a disgusted face and uses his hands to formulate a shape in the air. It doesn’t actually mean something comprehensive to the average person, but it must convey a thousand words to Wilbur. Maybe it’s a brother thing. Maybe it’s just a Tommy and Wilbur thing. Dream glances down to Techno, who is obviously eaves dropping on the conversation as well.

“Like they’re synced, not like, well, y’know – They didn’t meet until the Championships, right?” Tommy asks. It makes Dream still for just moment before he remembers he isn’t supposed to be listening.

“Uuuh, no, they were in the Monday Tournaments once as well –” Wilbur starts.

“Actually, that’s not entirely true.” Phil joins the conversation with a hesitant voice. His voice is lower than the other two, more prepared to whisper secrets and it brings down the entire conversation to a level that Dream can no longer hear. His face twitches irritably. What did Phil mean? Dream’s first run in with Techno again _was_ The Monday Tournaments. Techno had told him that Phil wasn’t aware that it was _Dream_ who he spent almost a year with in the Nether, just that he had someone important he was looking for. The Alpha had explained that he simply didn’t have the words to give an all-inclusive run down of their journeys in the Nether and by the time he could it didn’t seem important anymore. So, what was Phil on about?

Dream would have to ask later, because they were entering a new biome – red trees and carmine grass spreading out in front of them. It makes Dream take a short pause as the Déjà vu flows over him in steady waves. This normally happened when he entered the red forests; a place he once considered his home in the blazing heat. This time, however, this time was different.

Dream’s stead-fast pace he’d been keeping came to a slow halt. His gaze crawling over the small plants and large trees in the area and Dream knew he’d be able to close his eyes and _sprint_ with confidence in his steps. What a terrifying thought to have and it felt _electrifying._ Dream takes a small spin, trying to soak in as much of the area as he could – trying to figure out if this worm of a thought, of realization, was screaming a truth in his head or if all those years of hoping had finally made him go crazy. His eyes wash over to Technoblade. The tall Alpha has long, well-groomed pink hair, tusks that could leave a mark if applied with the right amount of pressure – and he is touching a tree with a long gouge cut along its bark.

For just a moment, Technoblade is a small boy with a greasy, scraggly mess of pink hair and he turns to look at Dream with a quiet noise (a word in a language Dream is trying to learn, if only to understand his only friend) and holds out a golden sword for him to try the swing (a chipped and breaking thing) Techno had just showed him. That’s right, Techno was teaching him to fight – 

He blinks and Techno is still staring at him. Dream feels like his voice has run away, left him in favor of returning back to the Overworld, because right now he can’t imagine it working. Dream swallows and all he feels is a bit of dryness from the air.

“I’ll race you,” He croaks. It’s the words that cut the tape, opening the race with a bang as the two of them take off. They hear a group of surprised yells from the companions they’re leaving behind.

The two are leaping over rocks and ducking under branches they haven’t had to before. Scaling a rock wall that used to be daunting is done with a few well-placed feet holds and a couple of bounds. Dream didn’t know when they started laughing – giggles attracting the attention of the Piglins standing around minding their own business. Dream dives around one, leaving it oinking with irritation.

The cave appears in sight, more vines hanging around the entrance with years of abandonment leaving it ungroomed. Dream glances behind him and Techno is a mere few feet behind him. He lets out a startled yelp and kicks it up a notch to keep the lead.

He knows it’s dangerous to burst into the cave. Someone, or thing, could be living there now. So, he pumps the breaks at the entrance, stumbling slightly to stop before he fell through the barrier of vines. Techno has a bit more issue doing this and ends up using the walls outside the cave to come to a sudden stop.

“I win!” Dream shouts with a whoop. They’re both breathing hard, but smiles adorn their faces like crowns. Dream holds his ribs as a little bit of pain twinges his side. Apparently, laughing and sprinting didn’t always mix super well.

“This time,” Techno replies. They both look around and Dream can say that everything looks… mostly the same. Some of the tree looks taller and there a few more young saplings that have sprung up. But…this is it. Dream feels a nostalgic force bubble up in his chest. He knows not every memory here was good, some involve screaming and hot tears spilling over burning wounds.

But others – tears falling over aching cheeks as he laughs at a little Piglin hybrid struggling to beat away a baby Hoglin harassing him before its mother appears, chasing the two boys off with furious screeches. Clawed hands teaching him the right way to hold a blade followed by a quiet night around a fire where they slowly stir a stew for dinner.

“I don’t think anything lives here,” Techno’s voice rumbles, chasing the memories away. The Alpha is inspecting the entrance, yanking some vines down and moving away as a few rocks come tumbling down off the lip on the cave’s entrance.

“Do you want to go in?” Techno asks him. Dream gazes at the entrance for a moment before nodding. One after the other, because they don’t fit side by side anymore, they push past the hanging vines and enter the dark space. Techno, whether because of practiced ease or foresight, takes a flint and steel out and lights the torches perched along the walls.

Everything looks like how they left it, for the most part. A layer of burgundy dust has settled across the area, rarely disturbed except by a few visitors that have taken a couple of things or used the brewing stand still sat along one wall. The fire pit has been used rather recently, for the ashes are still a dark black and there are a couple unused logs sitting next to the pit.

Techno moves over to a chest and lifts the lid as the lock had already been broken by someone else however long ago. Dream wanders over to peer over Techno’s shoulder inside the chest. A few pieces of old clothes sit at the bottom and Dream recognizes a lime green cloth at the bottom. It’s covered in dark, faded blood stains, but it’s his. His fingers ache to take it, but Techno closes the chest and it pushes dust sitting along the edge into the air in a small puff.

Dream gives the room a once over, trying to see what else has been disturbed. They took most of their valuables when they left for that last time so many years ago, so there wasn’t much to actually see. A weird feeling seeps into his bones. A sluggish cold picks at and devours the memories of laughter filling the air like a hungry beast awakening from a long hibernation. It’s dreadful and Dream suddenly feels small. His neck aches and his scarred face feels stiff.

Techno has gone still next to him, eyes wandering over and nostrils flaring to breath in the spoilt scent coming from the Omega in bursts. It sends an electric burst up his legs and into his arms, making him step forward and pull the shorter male into a hug.

A wet, desperate gasp escapes Dream’s mouth. He’s crying – when, when did that happen? Tears slip from his eyes and run warm over already hot cheeks. He feels like he is suffocating.

Somehow, Techno senses this and uses one hand to unclasp the white mask covering Dream’s face. He lays it gently on a table next to him. Dream’s subtle crying chokes become louder, which makes Techno’s arms hold him tighter, wrapping him tightly in a warm and familiar scent. 

“What’s g-going on? Why am I c-crying?” Dream shudders violently. An even and low rumble starts in Techno’s chest as he pulls Dream tighter. Dream knows instinctively what his Alpha is doing as the vibrations beat a soothing rhythm against his lungs. Techno has never been the king of comforting words, but his natural born instincts shine through impressively as he tries to calm Dream down.

The omega just wishes it would work like it did in books, minutes passing by with each read word. This felt like an eternity, his breath harsh and confusion muddling his brain because he didn’t know what was happening or why. He was fine moments before, excited even! But then – he recalled his origins of his throat injury, something that affects him to this day, and the scars that mar his cheekbones and mouth. The close calls at the Fortress and the moment Techno shoved him through a portal, marking the last time he would see the man in close to a decade.

“They’re over here, I think!” Wilbur’s voice is muffled behind the wall of vines, but it causes both of them to tense up. Dream feels a new brand of panic seep into his bones. Gods, he can’t let them see him like this –

He hears the rustle of the vines being shifted and Techno pulls Dream impossibly tight against his chest. The small cave is instantly reverberating with the sounds of a deep growl that Dream can feel in his bones. It’s filled with a dangerous warning that sends the person trying to enter stumbling back out with a surprised shout.

“What the _hell_ was _that_?” Tommy’s voice interrogates.

“I-I don’t know – Was that Techno?” Wilbur sounds shaken.

“What’s got him throwing a fit?” He can hear Tommy shuffling around outside the cave.

“Leave them be, boys, they’ll come out when they’re ready.” Phil’s voice reasons with the two.

Dream is grateful for that. Techno’s scent had twisted with a sour mark since Wilbur’s intrusion. He must be bouncing off of Dream’s scent and emotions. It sobers him up a bit and lets his lungs produce more even breaths.

“I’m sorry,” He mutters softly. Techno lets out another deep vibration, a warning to the Omega in his arms. _Nothin’ to be sorry for_ , Dream says in his head with a mimic of Techno’s voice. Dream, still held tightly in Techno’s arms, finds himself returning the gravely noise coming from the Alpha with his own Omegan purr. The sounds come together to make a comforting combination despite the juxtaposition of the two noises. A set of slightly dry lips press against his temple, where the skin is warped by scars.

“When you went through the portal, I was so happy.” Techno mutters against his hairline, “Not because you were gone, but because you were _free_. For almost a year, I had to watch you start to wilt and your hope falter. I knew that while I could keep your body functionin’, I could never keep you _alive_. So, when you got out, I was relieved – you were going to _live_.”

Dream feels his wet eyes mist up again, because there was this ball in his chest that felt such endearment towards those words, but when he remembers that day all he could feel was the sorrow of losing something dear to him.

“For the first month, I cried nonstop because I thought you were dead. It felt like I’d been abandoned.” Dream admits, “I was so lonely without you. We had spent every day for almost a _year_ together and suddenly you were gone. I didn’t know what to do – I mean, I _knew_ how to do things but I didn’t know how to do them without _you_.”

Dream tries to push his tears back into his eyes and Techno uses his thumb to help. His face is soft, gazing down at him with such remorse.

“And then, you’re walking by me in the sixth Championship asking me if my _shoes needed shining_ and I thought I was going crazy. I just convinced myself that it wasn’t really you. I mean, how many half Piglins are running around?” Dream laughs and it’s like bitter chocolate in his mouth, “Next thing I know, I’ve agreed to _duel_ you and I was terrified.”

“That’s what tipped me off to you,” Techno admits, “Your axe combat style is all yours, but when they handed you a sword, I was stuck wondering where someone learned to fight _like me_.”

Techno’s hand reaches over and picks up the mask sitting patiently, waiting for its return to its owner. He runs his fingers over the surface and Dream watches him before taking the mask into his own palms.

“Sorry about breaking the other one,” He says. Dream shrugs. He’d never been upset over that, matter of fact, he could look back now and be glad Techno shattered his old mask during their duel. He wipes his face one more time before slipping the white porcelain back where it belongs.

“Don’t be,” Dream mummers. He takes in a steady breath and pulls away from the Alpha, who’s eyes linger on his face with a gentle softness Dream finds is reserved solely for him. He likes that look – it’s much different from so many other types of ways people look at him. Spite, admiration, and even infatuation, they’re all so tiresome after all these years. This, the way Techno looks at him, is warm and makes him feel less like a subject under inspection and more like a someone who is actually _there_ and existing with the rest of the world.

Techno leans down and places a gentle kiss on the forehead of the mask. Dream can’t feel the warmth of skin against his, but the pressure is still there. He wishes so dearly that this could be something he experiences every day. Instead, when they leave the Nether, Techno will head south towards his Empire and Dream will return to the east. They’ll see one another at political gatherings and extravagant parties. They’ll steal moments between games at The Championships. Techno will write him letters and Dream will send him gifts in return. Alphas and Omegas, Betas as well, will try and court them and they both will continue to turn a blind eye to them all in favor of sweet talks tucked away from prying eyes.

And they’ll walk away from one another with a wistful yearning pulling their feet backwards.


End file.
